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it should draw near to living things, it both easily passes through, and has torn and destroyed the weak fabrics. 6.7 And they do not stop only at these things, but also of those things over which the choice of each of us is master (I mean, of the pursuits of virtue or vice), they attach the causes of these things also to the heavenly bodies. To contradict them is in other respects laughable, but because the many are preoccupied by the deceit, it is perhaps necessary not to pass over it in silence. First, then, let us ask them this, whether the configurations of the stars do not change ten thousand times each day? For the so-called planets are in perpetual motion, and some overtake one another more quickly, while others make their circuits more slowly; in the same hour they often both see and are hidden from one another, and it has the greatest power in nativities to be watched over by a beneficent or a malevolent star, as they themselves say. And often, not having discovered the time at which the beneficent star was bearing witness, through ignorance of one of the most subtle points, they have registered him as being in an unfortunate state. For I am compelled to use their very own terms. In such arguments, then, there is much foolishness, but much more impiety. For the malevolent stars transfer the cause of their own wickedness to the one who made them. For if the evil is from their nature, the Creator will be the maker of evil; but if they are evil by choice, first, they will be living beings with free choice, using unrestrained and sovereign impulses; which is beyond madness to falsely assert of inanimate things. Then how irrational it is to distribute evil and good not according to the merit of each, but because it has come to be in this place, it is beneficent, and because it is seen by this one, the same one becomes malevolent; and when it again deviates a little from the configuration, to immediately forget its wickedness? And so much for these things. But if at every instant of time they are rearranged into another and another configuration, and in these ten thousand changes, many times a day, the formations of royal births are completed, why are kings not born every day? or why are there hereditary successions of kingdoms among them at all? For surely not every king, having carefully observed, aligns the birth of his own son to the royal configuration of the stars. For what man is master of such a thing? How then did Uzziah beget Jotham? Jotham, Ahaz; Ahaz, Hezekiah? And did none among them happen upon a servile hour of birth? Furthermore, if the principles of actions according to vice and virtue are not from what is in our power, but are necessities from birth, superfluous then are the lawgivers, who define for us what must be done and what must be avoided, and superfluous also are the judges, who honor virtue and punish wickedness. For the wrongdoing is not the thief's, nor the murderer's; for whom it was not possible, even if he wished, to restrain his hand, because of the inescapable necessity that impels him to the deeds. And most futile of all are those who labor at the arts; but the farmer will prosper, neither casting seeds nor sharpening his sickle; and the merchant will become exceedingly rich, whether he wishes it or not, as fate gathers his wealth for him. And the great hopes of Christians will vanish for us, with neither righteousness being honored, nor sin being condemned, because nothing is accomplished by men according to choice. For where necessity and fate prevail, there is no place for what is according to merit, which is the distinctive feature of just judgment. And against them, so much for that. For neither do you need more words, being sound in yourselves, and the time does not permit me to extend myself against them beyond measure. 6.8 But let us return to the following words. Let them be, he says, for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. We have spoken about the signs. And by seasons we think he means the changes of the seasons: of winter, and

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ζῴων ἐγγίσῃ, αὐτό τε ῥᾳδίως διεκπίπτει, καὶ τὰ ἀδρανῆ ὑφάσμα τα διέρρηξε καὶ ἠφάνισε. 6.7 Καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τούτων ἵστανται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧν ἡ προαίρεσις ἑκάστου ἡμῶν κυρία (λέγω δὴ, τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἀρετῆς ἢ κακίας), καὶ τούτων τὰς αἰτίας τοῖς οὐρανίοις συνάπτουσιν. Οἷς τὸ ἀντιλέγειν ἄλλως μὲν καταγέλαστον, διὰ δὲ τὸ προκατέχεσθαι τοὺς πολλοὺς τῇ ἀπάτῃ, ἀναγκαῖον ἴσως μὴ σιωπῇ παρελθεῖν. Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ἐκεῖνο αὐτοὺς ἐρωτήσωμεν, εἰ μὴ ἐφ' ἑκάστης ἡμέρας μυριάκις ἀμείβεται τῶν ἀστέρων τὰ σχήματα; Ἀεικίνητοι γὰρ ὄντες οἱ πλανῆται λεγόμενοι, καὶ οἱ μὲν θᾶττον ἐπικατα λαμβάνοντες ἀλλήλους, οἱ δὲ βραδυτέρας τὰς περιόδους ποιούμενοι, ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ὥρας πολλάκις καὶ ὁρῶσιν ἀλλήλους καὶ ἀποκρύπτονται, μεγίστην τε ἔχει δύμανιν ἐν ταῖς γενέσεσι τὸ ἢ παρὰ ἀγαθοποιοῦ ἐφορᾶσθαι, ἢ κακοποιοῦ, ὡς αὐτοὶ λέγουσι. Καὶ πολλάκις καθ' ὃν ἐπεμαρ τύρει ὁ ἀγαθοποιὸς ἀστὴρ τὸν καιρὸν οὐκ ἐξευρόντες, παρὰ τὴν ἑνὸς τῶν λεπτοτάτων ἄγνοιαν, ὡς ἐν τῷ κακοδαιμονήματι αὐτὸν κείμενον ἀπεγράψαντο. Τοῖς γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων συγχρήσασθαι ῥήμασιν ἀναγκάζομαι. Ἐν δὴ τοῖς τοιούτοις λόγοις πολὺ μὲν τὸ ἀνόητον, πολλαπλάσιον δὲ τὸ ἀσεβές. Οἱ γὰρ κακοποιοὶ τῶν ἀστέρων τῆς ἑαυτῶν πονηρίας ἐπὶ τὸν ποιήσαντα αὐτοὺς τὴν αἰτίαν μετατιθέασιν. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ φύσεως αὐτῶν τὸ κακὸν, ὁ δημιουργὸς ἔσται τοῦ κακοῦ ποιητής· εἰ δὲ προαιρέσει κακύνονται, πρῶτον μὲν ἔσται ζῷα προαιρετικὰ, λελυμέναις καὶ αὐτοκρατορικαῖς ταῖς ὁρμαῖς κεχρημένα· ὃ μανίας ἐστὶν ἐπέκεινα καταψεύδεσθαι τῶν ἀψύχων. Ἔπειτα πόσον τὸ ἄλογον, τὸ κακὸν καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν μὴ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν διανέμειν ἑκάστῳ, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐν τῷδε τῷ τόπῳ γέγονεν, ἀγαθοποιὸν ὑπάρχειν, καὶ ἐπειδὴ ὑπὸ τοῦδε ὁρᾶται, κακοποιὸν γίνεσθαι τὸν αὐτόν· καὶ ἐπειδὰν πάλιν μικρόν τι παρεκκλίνῃ τοῦ σχήματος, εὐθὺς τῆς κακίας ἐπιλανθάνεσθαι; Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν εἰς τοσοῦτον. Εἰ δὲ καθ' ἕκαστον ἀκαριαῖον τοῦ χρόνου ἐπ' ἄλλο καὶ ἄλλο μεθαρμόζονται σχῆμα, ἐν δὲ ταῖς μυρίαις ταύταις μεταβολαῖς, πολλάκις τῆς ἡμέρας, οἱ τῶν βασιλικῶν γενέσεων ἀποτελοῦνται σχηματισμοὶ, διὰ τί οὐκ ἐφ' ἑκάστης ἡμέρας γεννῶνται βασιλεῖς; ἢ διὰ τί ὅλως πατρικαὶ παρ' αὐτοῖς εἰσι βασιλείας διαδοχαί; Οὐ δήπου γὰρ ἕκαστος τῶν βασιλέων παρατετηρημένως εἰς τὸ βασιλικὸν τῶν ἀστέρων σχῆμα τοῦ ἰδίου υἱοῦ τὴν γένεσιν ἐναρμόζει. Τίς γὰρ ἀνθρώπων κύριος τοῦ τοιούτου; Πῶς οὖν Ὀζίας ἐγέννησε τὸν Ἰωάθαμ; Ἰωάθαμ τὸν ἌχαζἌχαζ τὸν Ἐζεκίαν; καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐν τούτοις δουλικῇ συνέτυχεν ὥρᾳ γενέσεως; Ἔπειτα εἰ καὶ τῶν κατὰ κακίαν καὶ ἀρετὴν ἐνεργημάτων οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ ἐφ' ἡμῖν εἰσὶν αἱ ἀρχαὶ, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς γενέσεως αἱ ἀνάγκαι, περιττοὶ μὲν οἱ νομοθέται, τὰ πρακτέα ἡμῖν καὶ τὰ φευκτὰ διορίζοντες, περιττοὶ δὲ καὶ οἱ δικασταὶ, ἀρετὴν τιμῶντες, καὶ πονηρίαν κολάζοντες. Οὐ γὰρ τοῦ κλέπτου τὸ ἀδίκημα· οὐδὲ τοῦ φονέως· ᾧ γε οὐδὲ βουλομένῳ δυνατὸν ἦν κρατεῖν τῆς χειρὸς, διὰ τὸ ἀναπόδραστον τῆς ἐπὶ τὰς πράξεις αὐτὸν κατεπειγούσης ἀνάγκης. Ματαιότατοι δὲ πάντων καὶ οἱ περὶ τὰς τέχνας πονούμενοι· ἀλλ' εὐθηνήσει μὲν ὁ γεωργὸς, μήτε σπέρματα καταβάλλων, μήτε δρεπάνην θηξάμενος· ὑπερπλουτήσει δὲ ὁ ἔμπορος, κἂν βούληται, κἂν μὴ, τῆς εἱμαρμένης αὐτῷ συναθροιζούσης τὰ χρήματα. Αἱ δὲ μεγάλαι τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἐλπίδες φροῦδαι ἡμῖν οἰχήσονται, οὔτε δικαιοσύνης τι μωμένης, οὔτε κατακρινομένης τῆς ἁμαρτίας, διὰ τὸ μηδὲν κατὰ προαίρεσιν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπιτελεῖσθαι. Ὅπου γὰρ ἀνάγκη καὶ εἱμαρμένη κρατεῖ, οὐδεμίαν ἔχει χώραν τὸ πρὸς ἀξίαν, ὃ τῆς δικαιοκρισίας ἐξαίρετόν ἐστι. Καὶ πρὸς μὲν ἐκείνους, ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον. Οὔτε γὰρ ὑμεῖς πλειόνων δεῖσθε λόγων παρ' ἑαυτῶν ὑγιαίνοντες, ὅ τε καιρὸς οὐκ ἐνδίδωσι πέρα τοῦ μέτρου πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀποτείνεσθαι. 6.8 Πρὸς δὲ τὰ ἑξῆς τῶν ῥημάτων ἐπανέλθωμεν. Ἔστωσαν, φησὶν, εἰς σημεῖα, καὶ εἰς καιροὺς, καὶ εἰς ἡμέρας, καὶ εἰς ἐνιαυτούς. Εἴρηται ἡμῖν τὰ περὶ τῶν σημείων. Καιροὺς δὲ ἡγούμεθα λέγειν τὰς τῶν ὡρῶν ἐναλλαγάς· χειμῶνος, καὶ